Local authorities’ spending on buying property has fallen more than half following the outbreak of Covid-19, according to statistics from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The London Borough of Croydon has issued a second section 114 notice after it was unable to make sufficient cuts to balance a forecast £66m overspend in its budget this year.
The Department for Transport paid out £309m more to railway operators than it received from income in 2019-2020, according to the National Audit Office.
The government is unable to assess whether local authorities have enough funding to manage their flood risk effectively, the National Audit Office has said.
City of Edinburgh Council’s use of its general fund reserves is unsustainable and will be unable to cover future economic shocks, Audit Scotland has warned.
The government has announced it is to allocate £220m of pilot funding to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund next year, to help local areas prepare for the full launch of the fund.
The government is to launch a national infrastructure bank next year, as part of its National Infrastructure Strategy aimed at driving the levelling-up agenda.
Councils in England will receive an additional £3bn to cover Covid-19 expenditure over the next year, alongside a lifting of social care precept for council tax, the government has confirmed.
Nobody expected the 2020 Spending Review to slam the brakes on, but a prolonged period with no formal fiscal framework will start causing the chancellor new headaches, says Dan Corry.
Croydon Council has been unable to set out more than £11.2m of in-year savings towards a £67m shortfall this year – saying the task is impossible without central government support.
A council granted a capitalisation direction in March has warned it could be forced to deplete its usable reserves down to “unsustainable levels” to help meet an £11m funding gap.
More than half of English councils could be at risk of financial failure by 2023 if the Spending Review merely maintains funding levels, a report from financial adviser Grant Thornton has found.
The financial performance of London Borough of Croydon’s commercial companies and other ventures have consistently missed forecasts outlined in their business plans, according to a review.
London Borough of Bexley last week announced it is in discussions with Whitehall officials over an application to use capital borrowing to fund services. Council leader Teresa O'Neill and director of...
The government borrowed a record £214bn between April and October – although the figure was £77bn less than projections by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
The amount of money owed by local authorities to the Public Works Loan Board fell for the first time in almost four years during the second quarter of 2020-21.
An Essex council says it has been forced to change its borrowing strategy because other councils are unwilling to lend to it after negative press coverage over its investments.
In February 2018, Mark McLaughlin became the first section 151 officer in almost 20 years to issue a section 114 notice. Writing exclusively for PF, Northamptonshire’s former finance director makes a...
Section 151 officers face a 'tipping point’ requiring tough decisions on whether to follow London Borough of Croydon in issuing a section 114 notice, CIPFA chief executive Rob Whiteman has told MPs.
